P2 volvo AWD volvo clutch swap

Pics to be added later

Note that this was written for a RHD vehicle so if LHD swap Pass/drivers side notations as you need

Mate calls me and ask would I be interested in sitting in a chair and directing the quite competent apprentice(s) in doing the clutch job, so i wrote down the instructions as I went for future reference

Parts you should really have
New Flywheel, clutch, pressure plate, slave cylinder, plastic hose that connects internal slave to soft line (should include the bleed nipple), new engine mounts, new CV shaft seals for trans and trans input shaft seal


Before work began, had apprentice do some basic checks to make sure it wasn't something else

#1 check brake fluid level, found brake fluid level low

Suspect possibility of just simply ran low on brake fluid for any reason and air in clutch system == no clutch, check fluid and notice that fluid is exceedingly low

#2 apprentice puts car on lift, and has second apprentice sit in car ready to pump, apprentice 1 fills brake fluid all the way up and lifts car up, can visibly see brake fluid leaking out of drain hole of bell housing at a rapid pace, either failed slave or failed tube, either way box needs to come out

Lower car down and send apprentice 2 off to do other things

BEFORE FURTHER WORK BEGINS HAVE APPRENTICE DISCONNECT THE BATTERY! (Both terminals for safety)

then have apprentice raise car back up

#3 have apprentice remove exhaust from turbo back, then the prop shaft and place to side

#4 have apprentice remove both front wheels

#5 have apprentice remove front pass side inner liner

#4 have apprentice undo both ball joints and sway bar end links from sway bar and get the A arms popped out of the ball joint

#5 have apprentice put drain pan under gearbox and drain all oil from gearbox and all coolant from radiator (this can continue for a while while other work occurs you may even want to make it step zero)

#6 on pass side, have apprentice disconnect ABS sensor from hub and zip tie to strut spring

#7 on pass side have apprentice disconnect caliper and zip tie as high as possible on spring

#8 on pass side have apprentice disconnect steering end link from hub

#9 have apprentice remove bolts/nuts retaining CV axles to hubs from both sides

#10 On pass side have apprentice 2 hold hub/brake rotor assembly out while apprentice 1 taps onto CV with very large punch and dead blow or small sledge to get it to slide out of hub,

#11 On pass side while apprentice 2 holds cv, have apprentice 1 use proper pry bar to pop CV from transmission and have apprentice 2 place CV somewhere safe

#12 on pass side have apprentice 1 remove 2 big bolts between strut and hub while apprentice 2 holds hub, have apprentice 2 put the hub somewhere safe where rotor surface will not be damaged (this step is not strictly required but it does make it easier)

#13 have apprentice unbolt 4 nuts and 1 bolt from bottom of steering rack, 1 bolt from front engine mount and one bolt from rear engine mount (where it bolts to the steering rack)

#14 on drivers side have apprentice remove 2 bolts holding CV bearing retaining clamp (near timing belt end of engine) and pop off the retainer

#15 On drivers side have apprentice 2 hold hub/brake rotor assembly out while apprentice 1 taps onto CV with very large punch and dead blow or small sledge to get it to slide out of hub,

#16 On drivers side while apprentice 2 holds cv, have apprentice 1 use proper pry bar to pop CV from transmission and have apprentice 2 place CV somewhere safe

#17 Have apprentice remove bolts holding angle gear in place and remove angle gear and inspect the connecting collar, have apprentice 2 drain angle gear of fluid while other work continues but reinstall drain/fill plug without refilling

#18 have apprentice drop car down low & have apprentice remove rear strut tower "brace" with connection to the top engine mount

#19 have apprentice remove airbox and air mass meter and turbo intake pipe and disconnect lower radiator hose at pipe above trans that blocks access to bolts (pretty much everything easily removed from above the trans)

#20 have apprentice disconnect the clutch hose from the trans fitting by removing the tiny metal clip (keep in safe place) and popping out the connection

#21 have apprentice remove/pop off the shiftier cables and remove electrical wires from the trans including large ground cable at front of trans

#22 have apprentice remove top trans to engine bolts and any others easily accessed from the top

#23 have apprentice decides how he wants to remove the PITA starter to trans bolts and find a beer while he works it out

#24 have apprentice deploy cross engine bay engine support and connect to ONLY the engine lift point at the rear of the engine next to the top engine mount, ensure slack in this so the engine can easily drop 75-100MM

#25 have apprentice raise car back up and place twist stye support with wood under oil pan near transmission, have apprentice jack up engine so that it has raised engine approx 1CM

#26 have apprentice cut evap line in the middle of the rubber junction just behind the subframe, have apprentice remove remaining rubber hose from evap line running forward and then have apprentice pull it forward so its hanging at the front

#27 have apprentice unbolt earth grounding retaining clamp from subframe

#28 have apprentice remove 2 bolts that retain main wiring harness to front/top of subframe near front drivers side corner of subframe

#29 have apprentice pop out remaining clip also holding in wiring in same corner

#30 Have apprentice unbolt 3 bolts holding rear engine mount bracket to trans and remove engine mount/trans, have apprentice 2 swap to new engine mount while work continues

#31 have apprentice remove 4 smaller bolts from rear subframe reinforcement plates at rear of plates

#32 have apprentice remove both passenger side main subframe bolts and allow subframe to drop slightly

#33 have apprentice loosen (NOT REMOVE) both primary subrame bolts from drivers side of subframe allowing subframe to drop slightly

#34 have apprentice slowly lower the jack under the engine until the cross bar is fully supporting the weight

#35 have apprentice move lifting jack to front (timing belt end) of engine and have it raise the engine a few MM

#36 have the apprentice unbolt the 2 bolts holding the front engine mount to the block

#37 have apprentice use prybar to carefully pry the power steering lines away from the subframe so they are free from cips on subframe

#38 have apprentice remove black metal protection plate from around steering rack (IIRC 2 or 3 bolts)

#39 have apprentice verify that steering rack is pulled up from subframe and studs from steering rack are now out of the subframe, have apprentice place a subframe bolt into the pass side rear subframe mount and tie the steering rack to the bolt to hold it up and towards the rear of the car using some seat belt or rope

#40 have apprentice 1 & 2 hold subframe while qualified mechanic finishes removing drivers side subframe bolts and have apprentices slowly lower subframe while checking for any bolts or mounts missed and have qualified mechanic undo them as needed until subframe is free from car so apprentices can lower to ground

#41 have apprentice put transmission jack under transmission and secure using chain/strap as per standard

#42 have apprentice remove 2 nuts and 1 bolt holding random aluminum triangle to top left corner of trans as seen from pass side of car and remove the random thing and put to the side somewhere safe

#43 have apprentice remove remaining bolts from side and bottom of trans/engine holding trans and engine together

#44 have apprentice 2 hold and wiggle trans while apprentice 1 uses prybar to begin separation, once 5-8mm of separation are visible on all sides between block and trans have apprentice 1 put down pry bar and then adjust trans jack as required to separate the box from the engine, apprentice 1 may also need to adjust jack under the front of the engine up to allow the box to clear the frame rail

#45 after apprentices have completed separation, they can safely lower the trans to the ground

#46 have apprentice remove small clip securing clutch feed pipe to slave cylinder and have apprentice pull pipe out of its hole

#47 have apprentice unbolt (single bolt) and remove the slave cylinder

#48 have apprentices take trans and angle gear and both CV shafts to safe place to use cleaning devices and chemicals, have apprentice bolt angle gear back onto trans with 2 bolts and then apprentices insert both CV shafts and then have apprentices clean the heck out of everything (ensure drain and fill plugs are in place for trans)

#49 allow everything to dry for minimum 1 hour

#50 have apprentice 1 remove bolts holding pressure plate to flywheel while apprentice 2 holds pressure plate, when bolts are removed the 2 apprentices can put the pressure plate and clutch disk down somewhere safe

#51 have apprentice 1 use paint marker to refrence missing teeth from crank ring to block, ensure marks on either side of "slot" of missing teeth for easier identification (there is supposed to be a dowl to make incorrect install impossible but.....)

#52 have apprentice 2 hold flywheel while apprentice 1 removes bolts holding flywheel to crank and then apprentice 1 can use small pry bar to assist removing flywheel from crank

#53 have apprentice 1 remove and replace engine mount from front side of engine and engine mount bolted to the subframe currently sitting on the ground

#54 once trans is dry, have apprentices disassemble the CV's from the trans and the angle gear from the trans and bring back into work environment

#55 have apprentice 1 replace output seals (2) on trans, input seal (1) on trans, and output seal (for cv...) [1] on Angle gear

#56 have apprentice 2 refill angle gear with correct volume and type of fluid


#57 reinstall is the reverse of install while ensuring to fill trans with fluid at some point and that the apprentice torques everything correctly and there are no leftover "extra" parts or bolts



Things that could also easily be done for little extra effort while doing the work

#1 replace suspension A arm bushings and ball joints

#2 replace sway bar end links

#3 replace sway bar bushings

#4 service Haldex unit

#5 service rear diff

#6 oil change

Brake fluid low means the pads could just be worn down.

When will turbobricks have a wwd subforum?

ZVOLV said:

Brake fluid low means the pads could just be worn down.

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Our thought was that the fluid was allowed to run so low that it was possible for air to get into the clutch master.... hence the fill the fluid and try to bleed it test before going any further
In this case the fluid flowed out via the bellhousing weep hole at such a rate that a failed slave cylinder was easily confirmed

MistrThou said:

When will turbobricks have a wwd subforum?

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isn't it called sweedspeed?

We believed that the fluid level had dropped significantly enough to allow air to enter the clutch master. Therefore, we decided to conduct a test by refilling the fluid and attempting to bleed it before proceeding with any further steps.

Our hypothesis was that the fluid level had decreased to a point where air could enter the clutch master. To confirm this, we performed a test by topping up the fluid and attempting to bleed it before proceeding with any additional actions.

aaron3432 said:

Our hypothesis was that the fluid level had decreased to a point where air could enter the clutch master. To confirm this, we performed a test by topping up the fluid and attempting to bleed it before proceeding with any additional actions.

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Should I click this link? Either I've gotten paranoid or the bots are learning

aaron3432 said:

We believed that the fluid level had dropped significantly enough to allow air to enter the clutch master. Therefore, we decided to conduct a test by refilling the fluid and attempting to bleed it before proceeding with any further steps.

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Country: Pakistan

State/Region: Punjab

City: Lahore

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Seems legit.